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Spontaneous Formation of Noble‐ and Heavy‐Metal‐Free Alloyed Semiconductor Quantum Rods for Efficient Photocatalysis
Author(s) -
Chen Dechao,
Zhang Huayang,
Li Yunguo,
Pang Yingping,
Yin Zongyou,
Sun Hongqi,
Zhang LaiChang,
Wang Shaobin,
Saunders Martin,
Barker Emily,
Jia Guohua
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201803351
Subject(s) - materials science , photocatalysis , noble metal , heterojunction , chalcogenide , semiconductor , chemical engineering , nanowire , nanotechnology , metal , optoelectronics , metallurgy , catalysis , chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
Abstract Quasi‐1D cadmium chalcogenide quantum rods (QRs) are benchmark semiconductor materials that are combined with noble metals to constitute QR heterostructures for efficient photocatalysis. However, the high toxicity of cadmium and cost of noble metals are the main obstacles to their widespread use. Herein, a facile colloidal synthetic approach is reported that leads to the spontaneous formation of cadmium‐free alloyed ZnS x Se 1− x QRs from polydisperse ZnSe nanowires by alkylthiol etching. The obtained non‐noble‐metal ZnS x Se 1− x QRs can not only be directly adopted as efficient photocatalysts for water oxidation, showing a striking oxygen evolution capability of 3000 µmol g −1 h −1 , but also be utilized to prepare QR‐sensitized TiO 2 photoanodes which present enhanced photo‐electrochemical (PEC) activity. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations reveal that alloyed ZnS x Se 1− x QRs have highly active Zn sites on the (100) surface and reduced energy barrier for oxygen evolution, which in turn, are beneficial to their outstanding photocatalytic and PEC activities.